According to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s  May 2023 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI), overall confidence in the equipment finance market fell to a mark of 40.6, a decrease from the April index of 47. The index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by executives from the $1 trillion equipment finance sector.

“Until we get back to energy independence, I don’t see an uptick in the economy in the foreseeable future,” James D. Jenks, CEO of Global Finance and Leasing Services, said.

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, none of the executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 11.1% in April, while 51.9% said they believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 70.4% the previous month. In addition,48.2% said they believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from 18.5 % in April.

According to the survey, 3.6% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, unchanged from April, and 53.6% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a decrease from 70.4% the previous month. Meanwhile, 42.9% believe demand will decline, up from 25.9% in April.

This month, 10.7% of respondents said they expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 7.4% in April, while 75% of executives indicated they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, a decrease from 77.8% last month. Meanwhile,14.3% expect “less” access to capital, down from 14.8% last month.

When asked, 17.9% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 33.3% in April. Most executives (67.9%) expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 51.9% last month, while14.3% expect to hire fewer employees, down from 14.8% in April.

None of the leadership evaluated the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” unchanged from April, while 85.7% of the leadership evaluated the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 88.9% in April, And 14.3% evaluated it as “poor,” an increase from 11.1% last month.

According to the survey, 3.6% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 7.4% in April, and 32.1% believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, a decrease from 48.2% last month. Meanwhile, 64.3% believe economic conditions in the United States will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 44.4% last month.

In May, 35.7% of respondents indicated they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, down from 37% the previous month. Meanwhile, 53.6% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, up from 44.4% in April, and10.7% believe there will be a decrease in spending, down from 18.5% last month.